When I upgraded to a smartphone, one of the biggest differences between my old dumbphone and the smartphone was the camera. My dumbphone had a camera that took pictures that had the quality of a potato. The smartphone I bought did so much better but how did it compare to a point and shoot camera?

Although I do believe the best camera is the one you have on you, I have to admit that most smartphones do a really good job — almost to the point where I don’t think I will buy another point and shoot unless it has a Manual mode.

I currently have a pretty pricey point and shoot — a Canon G7 X. It is an amazing camera, and I always bring it with me when traveling. For me, the big reason why I do not just rely on a smartphone camera is the G7 X’s Manual mode. I really like the Manual mode operation, along with the ability to have a large flash drive and dedicated battery when taking a lot of photos. I know my smartphone would not be able to take a lot of photos without draining the battery and needing a charge.

I do not think I would replace my current point and shoot and rely only on a camera phone. I use the camera phone when I am out-and-about and do not have another camera. It does fine and is the only option for getting the picture. If my G7 X gives up the ghost, I will probably buy a DSLR so I can get a super wide lens for landscape shots. That is really the only issue I have with my current camera — lens offerings.

I knew when I bought the point and shoot, it did not have interchangeable lens. I was fine with that because it could take 80 percent of the pictures as it was. The extra 20 percent is why I need a DSLR, with a telephoto lens and an ultra wide angle lens. I think a telephoto lens does a much better job at blurring backgrounds when taking close-up pictures. I also think the wide angle lens makes photos look super cool.

Although I would like to add a DSLR to the mix, I could not justify it because of the cost and size. One could argue the G7 X cost almost as much as a DSLR and that is true but the size of it makes it perfect for my needs. I like the space-saving camera and do not want to look like a “professional photographer” because I am not.

Four years ago I started a new job. Everybody searched out my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter profile so they could follow me. It did not take long for them to realize I did not use social media back then. I was not “connected” to all those apps that allow “status updates” and always dislike the “networking” BS — also known as people using you for their own good.

As you would expect, I carried a dumbphone when I started that job. About a year and a half ago, I bought a smartphone. I installed apps like Facebook and Twitter, along with email access.

During the time I used that phone, it felt like I was constantly tied to the beeps and brings of every email and “status update.” Even when it was turned on silent, I still would check it. It drove me nuts.

I am all for technological progress, especially in the electronics world. Old hardware gets replaced with newer, better hardware, and trickle down technology brings the slightly older hardware to consumer level pricing for the average family. Computers and phones are perfect examples but I think the old dumbphone technology is perfect for me. I know I am not the only one. A writer for The Atlantic wrote a similar piece.

Dumbphones are stupid cheap. When I changed from a dumbphone to a smartphone, my bill went from around $35 a month to almost $70 a month.

Durability on the dumbphone is amazing. I dropped a seven-year-old LG many, many times — once off a second-story building — and there was never an issue except for a few scratches. I have seen smartphones dropped once and the glass screen broke.

The battery life on smartphones is abysmal compared to a dumbphone. I had to charge my smartphone everyday whereas the dumbphone I had would go a week between charges.

There are no social media apps on my dumbphone! I like to disconnect from computers. I spend all day working on a PC and don’t want to spend more time staring at a screen.

The privacy of a dumbphone is so much better because they don’t offer access to any accounts, which is good and bad.

The one feature that I will miss from the smartphone is the GPS function. When I travel, I like to have maps. In the past, I would bring physical copies and map out routes long before taking trips. Since I bought the smartphone, I never map out any routes. I just get a general idea of where I’m going, start out, try to find it, then if I don’t I will use the GPS.